After being in custody for five days, the immediate past Governor of Ekiti, Ayodele Fayose, on Monday appeared before a Federal High Court, Lagos, charged with N6.9 billion fraud.
Fayose is being prosecuted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) alongside his company — Spotless Investment Ltd — on an 11-count charge of N6.9 billion fraud.
Mr Fayose, and his company, Spotless Limited, pleaded not guilty to all the charges.
The judge, Mojisola Olatoregun, ordered that he be remanded in the custody of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission and then adjourned till October 24 for hearing of his bail application.
According to the EFCC, Mr Fayose received ₦1.2 billion to fund his 2014 gubernatorial campaign in Ekiti State, a sum they said he ought to have known formed part of the proceeds of an unlawful act.
Mr Fayose arrived at the court premises at about 8.30 a.m, accompanied by EFCC officials and armed police officers.
Femi Fani-Kayode, a former aviation minister and member of the Peoples’ Democratic Party, was also in court “to show solidarity”.
“I’m here to let people know that he’s not alone, I know what he’s going through because I’ve been there before,” Mr Fani-Kayode told journalists after the court sitting.
Mr Fani-Kayode said the federal government “has subjected every member of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party to one form of persecution or another”.
